They knew.

They knew. And he knew.

Those are five powerful — and infuriating — words.

Here are a few more.

The majority of the Wayne County Board of Education talked about the deficit and worrisome expenses in certain categories like contract services — more than once. And yes, they were made aware — most definitely the finance committee members and the board chairman — of the day-to-day financial operations in the district (not that anyone really believed that excuse anyway).

The overspending was massive and included money spent for administrators’ salaries and high-priced consultants — not to mention some rather questionable purchases, head-scratching contracts, varying versions of the truth, creative definitions of the word “transparency” and a certain disregard for the state’s Open Meetings and Sunshine laws.

Several board members — not just chairman Chris West — knew before the audit bombshell this summer that there was a budget problem.

And that includes vice chairman Jennifer Strickland, the same person who was so “angry” after “learning” about the district’s financial condition June 3.

Strickland served on the Finance Committee. So, too, did Pat Burden and Len Henderson. They were there when the late Rick Pridgen asked to look at what was soon to become a million-plus dollars in legal fees — and when he requested an itemized listing of how WCPS dollars would be spent.

Board members were told by the former superintendent and finance office and during audit presentations for FY 2017-18, and then again in 2018-19 and again in 2019-20 that there was a need for budget cuts and that there were deficit concerns.

They even knew that they were in serious financial trouble when West and other members of the board renewed the contract of then-Superintendent Dr. Michael Dunsmore.

That is also the vote where Strickland did not cast a ballot — effectively putting the final yes on the motion to re-up Dunsmore’s contract.

And despite what his fellow board member Ven Faulk said at the board’s most recent meeting, West is no white knight. He did not sound the alarm after “discovering” the massive deficit and rally the board members to fix the financial “emergency.”

He did not uncover some illicit plot cooked up by the finance officer and the superintendent to hide the district’s financial situation from the board. And he was not unaware of the growing deficit or the diminishing fund balance that dropped from $7 million to -$2.4 million in four years under his watch.

In some ways, knowing that the board knew about the financial dustup is a bit of a relief. To think anyone could have missed all this and have been duped by a superintendent, or that a finance officer could fool an entire Central Office administrative team, including his boss, is chilling, and concerning.

Former Finance Officer Michael Hayes did not hide audits from the board — or the information that a large deficit was accumulating.

Just look at the meeting minutes.

And West and members of the Finance Committee, including Strickland, were not oblivious to the bills that the law firm was running up.

In fact, West said he checked on them — and then defended them, just as he championed that same attorney’s billings and praised the firm’s work at the last two board meetings.

The chairman also announced that the district, which is paying a $3,000 a month retainer to Schwartz & Shaw, the aforementioned million-dollar law firm, will pay an additional fee to Richard Schwartz to handle its superintendent search.

Does that seem like a good idea?

So, if, as West contended, the retainer does not cover $83,000 in calls from school board members or using the firm to consult on a superintendent search, what does it cover?

All those decisions and jaw-dropping deficit spending suggest that something has run afoul on Royall Avenue.

It makes you wonder what might have happened if no one had been looking too closely.

There has been a lot of posturing going on in the last couple of weeks as the saga that is the WCPS’ budget debacle rages on.

And at every one of the last few meetings there has been a whole lot of congratulations and “thank you for your hard work” platitudes thrown around.

In fact, if you were one of the 91 people watching the live feed of the board’s latest meeting, you heard the “revelation and celebration” of the discovery that the district managed to salvage $1.8 million thanks to some masterful use of state and COVID-19 funds by its latest consultant hire and a whole bunch of savings from the fact that school was out for three months.

What you might have missed is the addendum that the district still owes more than $5 million — to repay the state loan to cover its June payroll and stipends and to replace $3 million it mysteriously borrowed from the Food Services Fund.

We don’t doubt there is hard work going on at Central Office. There are other activities done there besides budgeting. There are challenges with setting up a new school year under normal circumstances, let alone with a global pandemic looming.

But there are questions, important ones, that need to be addressed for the sake of the students and taxpayers of Wayne County — and for the employees who are there, and have been there, for the right reason — to provide the best education possible for the county’s children.

Let’s not get distracted — or let anyone else distract us — from what the real purpose is here.

And that is why the questions will continue, if only to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

No more blind trust. No more not holding public officials accountable. No more.

The jury is still out on interim Superintendent James Merrill — whom the district hired at a rate of more than $22,000 a month; the consultants, past and present (although there was some refreshing transparency in that area recently); who is scratching whose back and who has whose numbers on speed dial; and who is spinning, who is deflecting blame, who is sincerely ready to make a change and speak up and who is just waiting for it all to go away.

Sure, it is a little rocky now, but don’t despair.

Getting schools back on track and setting a new course for better and more responsible spending, that can only mean better things for our county and our children.

When the money is right, we can decide where it is best spent and if more needs to be invested — and who needs to hear about it.

And, by the way, there are other places that need some sunlight, too — and other boards that have become a bit too comfortable operating without real scrutiny.

We hope you will continue to help us weed out what is not working in Wayne County so we can head to the bigger and the better.

It is time for there to be some real watchdogs in town again, and don’t ever forget that you — the people who live here, love this community and want to protect it for your children and grandchildren — are part of that pack.